Vancouver Canucks president Trevor Linden poses with his 1957 Bottecchia that was once owned by his father-in-law. When his father-in-law was diagnosed with cancer, Linden had the bike restored for him.Photo by
Mark van Manen

Since he was hired four and a half months ago as the new uber-boss of the Canucks organization, Trevor Linden has been busy.

He’s fired a coach, hired another one as well as two assistants, brought in a new GM to revamp the hockey department, traded a franchise icon (Ryan Kesler), dumped the combined $9 million salaries of David Booth and Jason Garrison, signed some pending free agents and a couple of high-profile UFAs. All this with zero drama, we might add.

Now, in the NHL’s brief dog days before things start ramping up again in early September, Linden is taking a well-earned 10-day break.

If you know the new Canucks President of Hockey Operations at all, it’s no surprise that it involves riding his bike, a passion that’s had to take a back seat since his new job came about.

Linden will take part in the Haute Route Alps, a seven-day, fully supported climbing-fest in the French Alps that will see 500 amateur cyclists take on more than 900 kilometres of mountain terrain and climbing a combined 21,000 metres over 19 iconic ascents, such as Glandon, Alpe d’Huez and Mont Ventoux. It started in Geneva, Switzerland on Sunday and finishes Aug. 30 in Nice, France.

According to the website, the week of climbing is the equivalent of cycling more than twice from sea level to the summit of Mt. Everest.

Linden has been registered for the event since last year, but when Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini approached him about taking over the massive job of re-tooling the organization, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to find time for the ride.

“With the way my life has worked out, I really thought I wouldn’t be doing this, but the way things have worked out, the people we have in place, it’s pretty quiet, it’s a good window,” Linden said before departing for Europe.

“It’ll get me fresh and ready to roll for the season.”

Linden has been working long hours at Rogers Arena, but found time to train early mornings and weekends.

“I’m really excited,” said Linden, 44, who will be participating in the race with three riding buddies from Vancouver (Geoff Duyker, Wilf Leblanc and Jamie Armstrong).

“For me, seeing the world on your bike is really something special, it’s really unique. It’s one of those things where you set a goal. I’m going to ride my bike from Geneva to Nice and every day I get one step closer.”

Linden is no stranger to epic multi-day rides. He’s done the TransAlp races, both for road and mountain bike, some several times, and did the TransRockies in 2008.

He’s also pumped to try out his new custom-made Parlee road bike, which weighs just 15 pounds, in something more than just training.

So what would motivate a perfectly reasonable person to ride a bike up a series of ridiculously steep hills and then do it all over the next day for a week?

Many people, whether they cycle or not, probably ask this question and many who enjoy climbing struggle to articulate an answer.

Linden gave it a try:

“I think it’s something about powering yourself, it’s human power, very rhythmic, on a bike,” he said. “I like climbing mountains, I like feeling a little bit of the pain it takes and the satisfaction of getting to the top. Sure, there’s always going to be times when I’m thinking, ‘What am I doing up here?’ but you always forget about the pain at the end. It’s a challenge and it’s rewarding. I think for me, being in a sport where I always had goals and challenges, this takes the place of that a little bit.”

VINTAGE BIKE HAS SPECIAL PLACE IN LINDEN FAMILY’S HEARTS

A gorgeous collection of metal and rubber sits on the wall opposite Trevor Linden’s expansive desk at Rogers Arena.

That the shining road bike is vintage is obvious, but the story behind it is not.

The bike is a 1957 Bottecchia, still with its original Campagnolo Gran Sport components, buffed to precious metal perfection.

Made in Italy, the bike made its way to Canada in 1957 when the father of Linden’s wife Cristina, Romano Giusti, asked his cousin to ship the bike to him. Cristina’s father, who’d emigrated to Canada at age six in 1950, had always wanted a bike from “home.” He rode the bike for many years, but then it sat in his garage.

Cristina’s father was diagnosed with cancer last summer, so Linden had the bike professionally restored for him by Vancouver-based Le Domestique Cycling Shop and Service.

Cristina’s father told Linden he wanted him to keep it.

“My office felt like a good place (for it),” said Linden.

By the way, Cristina’s father is doing well now.

HOW DO YOU TRAIN FOR THE ALPS? CLIMB, CLIMB AND THEN CLIMB SOME MORE

How did Trevor Linden find the time to train for an epic cyclosportive such as the Haute Route Alps?

Well, it helped that he had a head start. Besides building a base of fitness over the past 15 years of cycling, Linden also is an avid cross-country skier — an ideal cross-training activity for cycling.

But let’s let Linden tell it:

“As crazy as this spring was I was able to get some rides on the weekends, generally start at 5:30 a.m., so I could be off the bike and at the office by 10-11 a.m. Occasionally, I was able to do a Friday afternoon ride followed up by two weekend rides, so getting these blocks was key.

“The last month as things settled down I was able to get a really early mid-week ride in as well.”

What would a big weekend ride look like to get ready for this beast in France?

A run up Mount Seymour (12 kilometres, 987 metres of elevation gain, average grade of seven per cent), then Cypress Mountain (14 km, elevation 897 metres, average grade of 5.7 per cent) and then a spin out to Britannia Beach and back. Total distance: About 150 km and 2,500 metres of climbing.

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